China Issues 2025 Action Plan for Attracting Foreign Investment
- Rose Li, XL Law & Consulting
- Mar 25
- 2 min read
On February 19, 2025, China issued the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment, outlining key measures to attract and retain foreign investment by expanding market access and increasing efforts to promote investment.
The 2025 Action Plan expands pilot programs in education and encourages foreign investment in vocational education. China will soon publish a new Catalogue of Industries for Encouraging Foreign Investment to expand market access for foreign investors in key sectors.
On February 19, 2025, China’s Ministry of Commerce and National Development and Reform Commission issued the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment (“2025 Action Plan”), which was approved at the State Council’s executive meeting on February 10. The meeting focused on the important role of foreign-invested enterprises in employment, export stability, and industrial upgrading, and the State Council urged the adoption of more practical and effective measures to maintain existing investments and attract new investments.
The 2025 Action Plan outlines key measures to attract and retain foreign investment by expanding market access and increasing efforts to promote investment. Among the measures, China will expand pilot programs in telecommunications, healthcare, and education, and develop and announce plans for the “orderly expansion” of education and culture. China will also encourage foreign investment in elder care, culture and tourism, sports, healthcare, vocational education, and financial services to meet consumer demand for multi-tiered services.
Per the 2025 Action Plan, China will revise the Catalogue of Industries for Encouraging Foreign Investment. The Ministry of Commerce will soon publish a new Catalogue that further expands market access for foreign investors in advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech, energy-saving, and environmental protection sectors.
Additionally, China will encourage financial institutions to provide financing services to foreign-invested enterprises in an effort to expand the channels for foreign investment.
Implications for U.S. Higher Education Institutions
Currently, China prohibits foreign investment in compulsory (K-9) education and requires foreign investors to enter into a joint venture with a Chinese partner to establish and operate most other types of educational institutions (e.g., preschools, high schools, and higher education institutions). In contrast, vocational education is an area that explicitly welcomes foreign investment, and the inclusion of vocational education in the 2025 Action Plan further underscores China’s need for skilled labor development and its recognition of vocational education as a sector where U.S. and other foreign investors can add value. Although the 2025 Action Plan does not suggest that wholly foreign-owned education institutions will now be permitted outside of vocational education, this could be a requirement that China reconsiders in its efforts to open up the educational sector to increased foreign investment. In any case, for U.S. educational institutions interested in the Chinese market, the 2025 Action Plan reflects China’s commitment to fostering a dynamic investment environment and signals new opportunities for engagement. Although the 2025 Action Plan lacks specifics, U.S. institutions can look forward to the implementation of the plan and the development of supporting policies that will welcome foreign investment.
